[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 58 (Thursday, April 22, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E632]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          HONORING THE LIFE OF LIEUTENANT COLONEL SPANN WATSON

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CAROLYN McCARTHY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 22, 2010

  Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize 
the life and achievements of Spann Watson, one of the original Tuskegee 
Airmen, a retired U.S. Air Force pilot and an advocate for civil 
rights. Mr. Watson, who helped break the color barrier in the military 
years ago, passed away at the age of 93 years old.
  Mr. Watson, originally born in South Carolina, moved with his family 
to New Jersey where he was inspired to become a pilot after watching 
Charles Lindbergh land the Spirit of St. Louis at Teterboro Airport. 
Mr. Watson earned his pilot's license while studying engineering at 
Howard University. In 1940, he was told by an Army recruiter that there 
were no openings for black pilots; however, a year later, the NAACP 
filed a race-discrimination lawsuit and the War Department set up an 
experimental program to train African American airmen.
  Mr. Watson completed this program, which was based at Tuskegee Army 
Air Field in Alabama, as a fighter pilot and participated in nearly 40 
flight missions during World War II. He retired from the military in 
the 1960s and worked as an affirmative action specialist for the 
Federal Aviation Administration. He continued to lecture into his 90s 
about his experiences as a military and civil rights pioneer.
  Over the past 20 years, Mr. Watson traveled the country attending air 
shows and speaking about the all-black flight program. In 1997, 
Congress honored graduates of the Tuskegee program with the 
Congressional Gold Medal--the Nation's highest civilian award.
  While at Tuskegee, Mr. Watson met Edna Webster, a civilian employee 
at the airfield, and they were married on December 17, 1943. The couple 
had five children and spent nearly 50 years as a resident of Westbury, 
Long Island.
  Madam Speaker, it is with great admiration, pride and respect that I 
acknowledge the accomplishments of Lieutenant Colonel Spann Watson and 
thank him and his family for a lifetime of civil service to our 
country.

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